I was having a lazy day today. I had no pants on, a long shirt, and I had my long brown hair in a messy bun.

I needed something to eat, so I got up off my couch and went over to the fridge. 

I grabbed a bowl of leftover rice and heard a knock at the door. My mother was out on a mission right now and I assumed the knocking was her, because she left her house key. She probably locked herself out of the house.

I walked over to the door, expecting to see her, but I was baffled when I saw my teammate. 

"Naoki?"

"Mika," 

My face was now turning into a deep shade of red, considering I wasn't wearing any pants right now and my male teammate was at the door.

"What are you doing?" Naoki asks.

"....Being lazy,"

"And why exactly aren't you wearing any pants?" Naoki asks.

 I noticed a bit of blood trickled down his nose and I rolled my eyes. 

"It's a part of being lazy, Naoki. My pants are in the washing machine anyway," I replied. "And why are you here? Kotone-Sensei gave us the day off,"

Naoki's face suddenly changed and he started to give me a look of sympathy. Now I don't understand why he's giving me that look in the first place. He walked inside of my house and sat down on the couch. He motioned for me to sit down with him and he handed a blanket over so I could cover myself.

"Mika," He sighed. "I have some bad news...it's about your mother,"

I suddenly had that sinking feeling in my stomach and I was now scared of what I was going to hear next.

"Lord Kazekage wanted me to deliver this message to you and uh-"

"Quit stalling, Naoki. Tell me already,"

"She died, Mika,"

The room got silent and my heart stopped. I could feel my hands starting to shake and I could feel tears threatening to burst. 

"N-No...it can't be true..." My voice wavered. "I don't believe you,"

Naoki pulled me into a hug and he was holding me on the couch in a comforting manner. 

"I'm so sorry, Mika,"

I wanted to scream. I wanted Naoki to tell me that he's joking. I wanted my mother to walk through that door right now and tell me that everything is going to be okay.

Naoki continued to hold me and I started to break down.

"How? How did this happen?" I ask him in between sobs.

"Remember we were told that those criminals were lurking around the Sand Village?" Naoki asks and I nodded in response. "She was sent with the ANBU Black Ops to go confront them and apparently one of them had killed her,"

"I don't want to believe this," I said. "She was one of the strongest kunoichis in the village. How could someone kill her so easily?"

"No one knows," Naoki replied. "Only one of the ANBU were present when it happened and apparently, this guy was a former criminal from the Land of Hot Water,"

Anger started to take over. 

"I'll find this guy myself and I'll put him six feet under," I stated, with anger. 

"Also, Lord Kazekage wants to speak with you, so we should get going," Naoki said.

I nodded and stood up, starting to walk over to the door.

Naoki suddenly grabbed onto my wrist gently and I turned around, confused. His face was starting to flush into a pink color.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

I looked down at my legs, realizing I still didn't have pants on.

"Oh, right," 

I went to my room to change into my ninja attire and put my Sand Village headband around my arm and came back out. 

Naoki looked relieved to see that I had pants on this time and we left my house.

He put his arm around me in a comforting way and started walking over to the Kazekage's Tower. We walked by my rival, Kankuro, who glanced twice at Naoki's arm.

Lots of people tried to imply that Kankuro and I would end up falling for each other. There is no way in hell that is happening.

I accidentally made eye contact with him and I looked away quickly. Naoki caught this and he smirked a little. I rolled my eyes in response.

"I'm just trying to make you smile a little," Naoki said and took his arm off my shoulder.

My other teammate, Rika was already there with Kotone-Sensei.

"Hey..." Rika engulfed me in a hug.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," I said to her quietly.

Kotone walked over and motioned for Rika to go stand with Naoki.

"I'm sorry about your loss," Kotone said. "The Kazekage wanted to speak to you about a will that your mother left behind. Come talk to me after he's done speaking to you,"

I nodded and walked inside of the building. Two Sand ninjas escorted me to his office and let him know that I was here.

They left the two of us alone and Lord Kazekage looked up from a piece of paper.

"I'm sorry about your loss, Mika," He started. "Miyako Ishii was a very skilled kunoichi who was loyal to her village till the end,"

"Yeah..." I trailed off, starting to feel tears wanting to burst again.

"She left a will behind and it pretty much states that if something were to happen to her, she wants you to live with your father-," 

I accidentally cut him off.

"Wait, my father lives here?" I asked, puzzled.

"No, he lives in the Hidden Leaf Village. She never revealed why she kept you away from him, but you'll be moving there to stay with him," The Kazekage replied, not minding that I had cut him off. 

Why would she want me to live there when she claimed that she hated my father? When I was little, I'd always ask about him. She would only tell me that he was a "bad influence" or "a terrible and heartless person". She insulted him every chance she got. What's with the sudden change? 

I had no idea who my father was. She never wanted to tell me that either.

I had a feeling she was hiding something from me.

"What's going to happen to Team Nine?" I ask.

"They'll have a new person assigned to them, so they'll be fine," Lord Kazekage reassured. "Now, I've already alerted the Hokage about Miyako's will, so he said he would let your father know and have you two meet at the gate. You can pack your things and move today," 

"What about my mother's funeral?" I ask.

"We're not going to hold that just yet, we need to figure out what happened exactly. I'll let the Hokage know about that too so you can attend her funeral. I wouldn't want you to miss out on that."

With that, I was done speaking to him. He dismissed me and wished me a safe trip over there.

I couldn't get over the fact that I would meet my father for the first time ever. For thirteen years, I've been without a father and I hoped that he would accept me. I wonder if he even knows about my existence.

Kotone walked over to me when she saw me exit the building.

"I also forgot to mention to you that Miyako wanted you to have your father's last name if she were to ever die because she doesn't want you in danger," Kotone said as I walked over to Naoki and Rika.

"I don't even know who my father is and why would I be in danger?" I ask.

"Miyako never told you who he is?" She asked.

I shook my head, "Do you know?"

Kotone sighed. "Just wait until you get there. You'll meet him and the Hokage can introduce the two of you,"

I headed over to my house with Naoki and Rika. I grabbed a huge bag and they helped me pack up. I didn't have a lot of things I needed to keep, so I just grabbed what I needed. My favorite blanket, photo albums, and my clothes and shoes. 

I dropped the bag on the floor and Naoki yelped.

"You dropped it on my foot, Mika!" He exclaimed and picked the bag up.

"It's not even that heavy, you're just fragile," Rika smirked.

They started to bicker as usual and I ignored it so I could focus on packing up and soaking in the house for one last time.

I walked to her bedroom, smelling the perfume she always wore and her shampoo. I was going to miss this smell and I was going to miss coming in here to bug her when we both had days off. Why did she have to die?

I walked to the living room and Rika gave me a sympathetic look.

"Ready?"

I nodded and we left my house.

I didn't want to start crying now, so I held in my tears and met up with Kotone who was at the gate waiting on us.

They were going to escort me over to the Leaf Village so I would get there safely.

I kept spacing out and we finally reached the leafy part of the forest, meaning we were now in the Land of Fire. 

It was weird being in this area. It was green and there were flowers and trees everywhere. You could even smell the pine trees and the rain mixed together over here. I kind of liked it over here now since it was better than being in such a dry area for so long.

"We're here!" Naoki practically yelled.

"Hush it, fool. Stop yelling!" Rika scolded.

"You're yelling too you big, hypocrite!" Naoki retorts

The gates opened and the two gatekeepers sweat-dropped at the two of them. Kotone put two fingers on her temple as if she was embarrassed.

"Guys, knock it off. Do not make a scene in front of the Hokage!" Kotone hissed quietly, straightening them both out. 

An older man with a red and white Kage hat was guarded by six of the ANBU Black Ops. He looked at us and then gave us a polite smile.

"You must be the ones who are escorting Mika," He said. "Which one of you is Mika?"

I stepped forward and bowed.

"I'm Mika Ishii, sir," I said.

He nodded and I looked around. 

The Hokage can't be my father and these two gatekeepers are obviously not my father. Wasn't he supposed to meet us here? Did he ditch me?

The Hokage sighed when he realized I was looking for him.

"Sorry about him, he's late, as usual."

I looked at the village. It was beautiful here. The Hokage heads were carved and still lasted, the flowers and the trees were a vibrant color, and it wasn't overly hot here. Back in the Sand Village, it got so hot there that I'd sit in a tub of cold water just to cool down.

"Oh, okay."

~~~~~~~~~~

I decided to keep the names of the chapters that @xPoisonIvy12 named them originally because I kind of like that idea. I'm trying something new out now and I hope you guys like the updated version of this story as much as the old one.